Biographies

Mr. Christian M. Zugel is Chairman of the Board, Chief Investment Officer of Zais Group Holdings, Inc. Mr. Zugel also serves as Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Investment Officer of ZAIS Financial Corp. (“ZFC REIT”), a publicly traded real estate investment trust for which a subsidiary of ZAIS Group acts as the external manager. Prior to founding ZAIS Group, Mr. Zugel was a senior executive with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., where he led J.P. Morgan’s entry into many new trading initiatives. At J.P. Morgan, Mr. Zugel also served on the Asia Pacific management-wide and firm-wide market risk committees. Mr. Zugel received a Masters in Economics from the University of Mannheim, Germany.

Mr. Daniel Curry is President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of the Company. Previously he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and director of DBRS Group, a credit rating agency. Prior to his service with DBRS Group, Mr. Curry served as a Managing Director at Moody’s on the Corporate Ratings team.

Ms. Nisha Motani is Acting Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer of ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc., since December 1, 2016. Ms. Motani also serves as the Director of Fund Reporting for ZAIS Group, and is responsible for overseeing annual audits, monthly net asset value reporting, quarterly and annual financial statement reporting, and informational requests from investors for all ZAIS Group-managed entities. Ms. Motani is also responsible for setting internal accounting policies and procedures, researching accounting issues, and serving as a direct liaison to the auditors and tax preparers for ZAIS Managed Entities.. Prior to joining ZAIS Group in October 2003, Ms. Motani worked as a senior manager in the Financial Services audit practice of Deloitte & Touche where she specialized in investment management. She is a CPA with a B.S. in Accounting from Rutgers School of Business.

Mr. Don S. Choe is Chief Technology Officer of the Company. He is a Managing Director and has served as Chief Technology Officer at ZAIS since 2011. Before joining ZAIS in June of 2009, Mr. Choe was a Managing Director at Barclays Capital in their Securitized Products Technology group. Mr. Choe joined Barclays Capital from Lehman Brothers, where he, as Head of Securitized Products Analytics, architected and managed the delivery of the securitized products analytics systems servicing the POINT and LehmanLive Applications. In aggregate, Mr. Choe possesses greater than 24 years of experience providing technology and analytics solutions for fixed income businesses. Mr. Choe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.S. in Finance and Accounting and a B.A.S. in Management and Technology.

Mr. Marc D. Galligan is Chief Risk Officer of the Company. He is a Managing Director and has served as Chief Risk Officer since 2008. He is also Head of Middle Office and co-head of the Valuation Committee. Mr. Galligan has 38 years of experience in the credit markets. Before joining ZAIS Group in August of 2008, he was a Senior Managing Director responsible for Credit Trading Risk Management at Bear Stearns, which included cash and credit derivative trading risk, as well as Leverage Finance. Before Bear Stearns, Mr. Galligan spent 20 years in a variety of credit and investment banking roles at The First National Bank of Boston and The Chase Manhattan Bank. Mr. Galligan received a B.S. in Finance from Boston College and an M.B.A. from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Mr. John Daniel Burke is Independent Director of the company. Mr. Burke founded Rumson Capital, LLC, a hedge fund engaged in quantitative arbitrage based strategies, and served as its Managing Partner from 1993 until 2008. Prior to founding Rumson Capital, Mr. Burke was a Director at Deutsche Bank, AG from 1991 to 1993, where he served as Co-Head of the Global Structured Products Group and managed the global derivative products group. From 1983 to 1993, Mr. Burke served in several capacities at PaineWebber, Inc., including as Managing Director of the Global Equity Derivative Group. He has been a professor of finance at Monmouth University since 1999. Mr. Burke received his M.B.A. with honors from Indiana University with a specialization in finance and his B.A. in business and economics from State University of New York, College at Brockport.

Mr. Paul B. Guenther is Independent Director of the company. Mr. Guenther served as a member of the board of directors of The Guardian Life Insurance Company, where he has chaired the audit, investment and human resources and governance committees. In 2015, Mr. Guenther was elected to the board of directors of Barnes & Noble, Inc. and as Chairman of its audit committee. Mr. Guenther has also served as chairman of Community and Southern Bank Holding Co. and as chairman of First National Bank of New York, which merged into Bridgehampton National Bank in 2014. From August 2007 to November 2010, Mr. Guenther served as a member of the board of directors of Liberty Acquisition Holdings Corp., a publicly traded blank check company that completed its business combination in November 2010. Mr. Guenther was the President of PaineWebber Group, Inc. from January 1994 to April 1995. Mr. Guenther began working at Paine Webber Incorporated in 1966 and served as its President from December 1988 until January 1994. Mr. Guenther also served as Chairman of the New York Philharmonic from September 1996 until 2009, after which he became Chairman Emeritus, and was a member of the board of directors of RS Investments until 2015. Mr. Guenther serves on several philanthropic boards and is a member of several charitable organizations. Mr. Guenther received his M.B.A. from Columbia Graduate School of Business and his B.S. in economics from Fordham University and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. James M. Zinn is an Independent Director of the Company. Since 2013. Mr. Zinn served on the board of directors of ZFC REIT, including as Chairman of the audit committee. In connection with the closing of the Business Combination, Mr. Zinn resigned from the ZFC REIT board of directors and joined our board. Since 2010, Mr. Zinn has served as a Director and formerly Treasurer of his homeowners association representing over 5,000 residents. From 2008 through 2012, he also maintained an on-call consultant role with ODIN Technologies, Inc., a radio-frequency identification-engineering firm, which he helped organize in 2003. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Zinn served as a director of Vmeals, LLC, an online food sales organization. During 2008, Mr. Zinn also served on the valuation committee of XE Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund based in New York City. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Zinn co-founded and served as Chief Financial Officer (until 2002) and a Director of ServerVault, Inc., a secure web-hosting company. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Zinn served as the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of CapitalOne Financial Corporation, where he was responsible for all financial management and related communications. Prior to that, from 1977 to 1994, Mr. Zinn served in various capacities from staff accountant to Regional Partner for Ernst & Young, LLP, providing accounting and consultation advice on technical accounting matters to financial services clients. Mr. Zinn received a B.S. in Business Administration from The Ohio State University in 1975.

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